Dioga Jota Death: Five Footballers Who Died Young
The football world came to a complete standstill following the shocking news of the death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who, along with his brother Andre Silva, was involved in a fatal accident in the municipality of Cernadilla, Zamora.
Jota was reportedly returning to England to report back to Liverpool for pre-season preparations when the tyre of his Lamborghini burst while overtaking another vehicle. The crash occurred around 12:30 a.m. local time, and both brothers tragically lost their lives.
Just six months ago, West Ham United’s Michail Antonio was involved in a terrifying incident of his own when his Ferrari skidded off the road on Epping Street, resulting in a broken leg. The Jamaican international later confirmed that he could have died had it not been for the swift intervention of paramedics and doctors who saved his life.
The Portuguese and his brother were not as fortunate.
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Notably, they are not the first footballers on record to have tragically passed away, at a young age, and so we take a painful look back at football players who tragically died young.
Emiliano Sala
In January 2019, Welsh club Cardiff City, in its bid to maintain its status in the Premier League, forked out £15 million for the Argentine Striker Emiliano Sala from Nantes.
With agreements in place, the Argentine boarded the Piper PA-46 Malibu Aircraft for the UK but never made it as the plane plunged into the English Channel off Alderney in the Channel Islands.
It was eventually revealed that the pilot, David Ibbotson, was unlicensed and not qualified to fly at night. A second search was conducted, and while Sala’s body was ultimately found in February, Ibottson was never found, and it kick-started a long dispute between both clubs because Nantes demanded the first of three instalments of the transfer fee to be paid while Cardiff disagreed.
Marc Vivan Foe
The Cameroonian tragically died doing what he loved the most, playing for Cameroon in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup against Colombia.
Just like Emiliano Sala and Diogo Jota, he was 28 years old when he suddenly slumped on the pitch with no preexisting condition. The former was stretchered off the pitch after several attempts to resuscitate his heart. However, it was still alive even after they arrived with his body at the stadium’s medical centre before dying shortly after.
A post-mortem found evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a hereditary heart condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise.
Laurie Cunningham
The Englishman, who made history as the first English player to represent Real Madrid – 24 years before David Beckham – and one of the first Black players to represent England at the senior level, also died in Spain at the age of 33 in a car accident, leaving behind his mother and son.
Andres Escobar Saldarriaga
The Colombian Defender, nicknamed the Gentleman, was a clean, calm football player who played for Atletico Nacional, BSC Young Boys, and the Colombian national team.
At the 1994 World Cup, Escobar scored an own goal in the match against the host nation, USA, after stretching to block a cross from John Harkes.
Colombia were eventually knocked out at the group stage and instead of visiting relatives in the US, he decided to go back to Colombia and after hanging out with friends was alone in the Car Park in the morning when 3 men reported accosted him and in the ensuing argument brought out a hand gun and shot him 3 times.
He died at the age of 27.
Rommel Fernandez
The Panamanian striker, who enjoyed a successful career in the Spanish league for clubs like Valencia and Albacete, died in a car crash in May 1993 at the young age of 27. He was a beloved figure in Panamanian football.
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